Toy



United States Patent TOY Robert K. McBerty, Galion, Ohio ApplicationDecember 15, 1952, Serial No. 325,976

1 Claim. (CI. 33-27 This invention relates generally to a mechanism forproducing designs and more particularly to a mechanism capable ofcombining three rotative motions and record the results thereof.

When manufacturing devices for generating designs, particularly with theview of their use as a toy, it is essential that the device hestructurally simple to manufacture and operate. In order to provide acompetitive toy, it is, therefore, desirable that the toy be capable ofmanufacture from low cost materials which are easily fabricated so thatthe initial cost will be as low as possible. It is probably of evengreater importance that the mechanism be simple to operate so thatyounger children may be able to enjoy using the toy.

It is also important in the field to toys of this nature that the toy becapable of continued amusement in that minor variations or adjustmentsin the mechanism will result in entirely new designs each time the toyis used.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a mechanismcapable of generating an infinite number of designs.

It is another object of this invention to provide a mechanism wherein asimple adjustment results in a new and completely different design eachtime the mechanism is used.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a toy that maybe easily manufactured from low cost durable material.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become apparent inview of the following description taken in conjunction with thedrawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a toy according to this inventron;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the toy; and,

Fig. 3 is a front view of the toy.

The apparatus for generating the curves according to this invention iscomprised of a base, a disc rotatably mounted on the base and aplurality of pulleys rotatably mounted on the base spaced from the disc.Driving means are provided to rotate the disc and pulleys simultaneouslyin such a way that the angular velocity ratio between the disc andpulleys may be held constant or may be varied as desired. An arm isattached pivotally to each pulley at one point and rotatably attached tothe other arm at another point spaced from the pulleys. A recordingsurface is rotatably attached to the disc on its upper surface. A scribeor recording means is mounted on one of the arms in such a way that itengages the recording surface on the disc. The pivot attachment of thearms to the pulleys is arranged so that it may be moved relative theaxis of rotation radially on the respective pulley. The scribe recordsthe locus of the relative motion between the recording surface and thescribe and thereby generates curves which take the form of designs asthey are repeated.

Referring to the drawings, a base is provided on which is rotatablymounted a disc 11. A pivot pin 12 is mounted in the base 10 and projectsinto a bore in 2,720,704 Patented Oct. 18, 1955 the center of the disc11 providing a pivot around which the disc 11 rotates. Pulleys 13 and 14are also rotatably mounted in the base 10 in a manner similar to thedisc 11. The pivot pins 16 and 17 are anchored in the base and arespaced from the disc 11 providing a pivot for the pulleys 13 and 14. Inthe preferred embodiment the axes of the pivot pins 12, 16 and 17 aresubstantially parallel and the upper surface of the pulleys and the discare substantially in the same plane.

A drive shaft 18 is mounted for rotation beneath the base 10 in thedrive shaft supports 19 and 21. Collars 22 and 23 are provided on thedrive shaft 18 which engage the supports 19 and 21 thereby axiallylocating the drive shaft 18. A drive wheel 24 is slidably mounted on thedrive shaft 18 and is formed with a friction surface 26 preferablyrubber for engaging the lower side of the disc 11. The thumb screw 27 isprovided in the hub 28 of the drive wheel 24 to lock the drive Wheelagainst any motion relative to the drive shaft 18. By axially moving thedrive wheel 24 along the shaft 18 an infinite number of speed ratios maybe provided. As the drive wheel 24 is moved radially away from the pivot12 of the disc 11 the angular velocity ratio between the shaft 18 andthe disc 11 will be increased thereby resulting in a slower rotation ofthe disc for a given rotation of the shaft 18. Conversly, as the drivewheel is moved along the shaft 18 toward the axis of the disc 11, theangular velocity ratio will be decreased and the disc 11 will rotatefaster for a given rotation of the shaft 18.

In the preferred embodiment, a pulley drive wheel 31 is mounted forrotation on the shaft 18 in such a way that it is substantially tangentto a common tangent of the pulleys 13 and 14. Grooves are provided inthe periphery of the pulleys 13 and 14 and the wheel 31. A belt 32 isdisposed around the pulleys 13 and 14 and the pulley drive wheel 31 sothat when the pulley drive wheel rotates the pulleys are also rotated. Abelt 32 may be formed of any suitable means such as string, a rubberband or a continuous coil spring.

A scissor-like assembly is formed of two arms 33 and 34 one of which ispivotally attached to each of the pulleys as at 39 and 41. The pivots 39and 41 are radially adjustable in the slots 42 and 43 formed in thepulleys 13 and 14. Thumb screws 44 and 46 are provided to secure thepivot points 39 and 41 in the desired position while still providing asimple means of radially adjusting the arms. By radially adjusting thepivots 39 and 41, it is possible to adjust the magnitude of the motionof the arms 33 and 34. Since the pivots of the arms are independentlyadjustable, an infinite number of combinations of motions are possible.The arms 33 and 34 are crossed and rotatably joined in the point oftheir crossing by a pin 36 which may be adjusted to vary the point ofintersection of the two arms. Longitudinal grooves 44 and 46 are formedin the arms 33 and 34 respectively to provide for the adjustment of theintersection of the arms.

When manufacturing this device for use as a toy it is preferable thatthe various elements be manufactured from wood or some similar materialwhich is low in cost and easy to fabricate. However, in otherapplications where accuracy and durability are of prime importance, itmay be desirable to fabricate the device from metal.

A recording surface 48 is mounted on the upper surface of the disc 11 bythe pin 12 and a recording element 47 is mounted on one of the armsengaging the recording surface. A combination of the recording surfaceand the recording element must be capable of recording the locus of therelative motion of the recording surface and the recording element.Preferred is a recording surface consisting of a lower surface of deeplycolored waxy or gummy material on which is superimposed one or morethrough; On pulling the translucent sheet from the underlined materialthe sheet is cleared and another design may be made. When employing arecording surface, of

' this nature the recording element'is merely a substantial ly pointedscribe which engages the upper translucent sheet thereby causing thesheet to engage the surface of the gummy material along the line ofcontact. This recording system is no part of this invention other thanin combination with this toy and alternative recording methods may beused such as paper and a ball point pen or pencil where the paper wouldbe mounted on the rotating disc and the pen or pencil mounted on thearm.

Those skilled in the art will realize that by' adjusting the magnitudeof the motion of the arms by adjusting the pivots and by adjusting therelative velocity of the rotating disc 11 by moving the pulley 24 alongthe shaft 18, it is possible to modify the combination of movements inan infinite number of ways so that the design generated by the recordingelement 47 on the recording surface may be infinitely changed so thatthe user of the mechanism toy will find a continued source of amusement.

Having completed a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention so that others skilled in the art will be able tounderstand and practice the same, Istate that what I desire to secure byLetters Patent is not limited by said preferred embodiment but rather isdefined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is: V

A toy for generating and recording curves comprising a base having asubstantially horizontal upper surface, a horizontal disk pivoted onsaid frame for rotational movement about said pivot, a drive shaftrotatably mounted on said base with an axis of rotation intersecting theaxis of said disk perpendicular thereto, an annular drive wheel axiallyslidable relative to said shaft the periphery thereof engaging the underside of said disk, means preventing relative motion between said wheeland said shaft, a plurality of pulleys rotatably mounted on said basespaced from said disk with the axes thereof parallel to the axis of'saiddisk, pulley drive means rotatably connecting said drive shaft and saidpulleys, arms pivotally attached to each of said pulleys at one pointandr0- tatably attached to each other at a second point spaced from saidone point, a recording surface mounted on the upper side of said diskincluding a waxing material covered by a translucent sheet of material,and a recording member mounted on an arm engaging said surface of saidsheet recording the locus of the relative motion of said recordingsurface and recording member, said translucent material being -movableaway from said waxing material to erase 'said recording surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

